


The Red String of Fate

by PaperServant



Category: RWBY
Genre: Drama, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Red String of Fate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-09-21
Packaged: 2018-05-14 07:13:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5734351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaperServant/pseuds/PaperServant
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Do you know the legend of the red string of fate? The very string that binds lovers together from the moment they are born? Do you believe in the legend's many wonders? Or is all of it a hoax to you? Let me be the first to tell you that the legend of the red string is true. And that this is the story of four girls as they slowly realize that their fates are intertwined.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time uploading on AO3, so excuse me if I make any mistakes in the formatting or what not. This story is also posted on Fanfic.net under the same name.

Prologue

"Ten lien says those two'll break up." Ruby pointed subtly with her thumb to a couple in the corner of the cafe, who, put bluntly, were all over each other. 

Her sister, Yang, merely shook her head. The two sisters sat in a solitary coffee shop, not too far off campus from their school of Beacon Vale University. They had been there for hours at this point. Their cups of coffee had long been finished.

Yang laughed, "Psh, look at them. They might as well be eating each other's faces." The blonde relaxed back into her seat, confident in her words. "No way they're breaking up. Sorry Rubes, gotta call you on your bluff."

Yang watched as Ruby's lip slowly curled into a smile. "I wasn't bluffing." 

Her hand unfolded into an open palm, awaiting the money that Yang now owed her. Yang, on the other hand, could only stare, her once comfortable seating slacked. Eventually, the older of the two sighed in defeat and unwillingly fished a fresh ten lien bill from her pocket. 

"Yang, keep it." Ruby's smile grew bigger as she folded her hand back into her pocket. The redhead watched as Yang realized the trick she had pulled on her. Ruby couldn't help but laugh at the face her sister made, which quickly twisted into a very annoyed look.

"Ha ha, very funny. You know, I'll be doing that to you from now on, right?" Yang said, as she puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms.

Ruby snorted, "Looks like I won't be making bets with you then." She then stood from her seat and made her way towards the door, her sister followed soon after.

As she held the door for Yang, Ruby looked back at the couple one last time. A red string hanged from each of their pinky fingers, both leading off into two opposite directions. Swiftly, Ruby turned around, leaving the coffee shop as well as the couple.

~

Do you know the legend of the red string of fate? The very string that binds lovers together from the moment they are born? Perhaps not, for the human race has decided to classify the legend as false, contrary to their ancestral counterparts. This may be the fault of a change of times polluting the original legend.

It started with a man by the name of Yue Xia Lao, the guardian of the red strings. He alone possessed the power to see the red strings of others, eventually guiding them to their fated person. 

In ancient times, when the idea of true love was believed to be fact, human beings thrived on the legend of the red string. Yue Xia Lao was at his busiest during these times. Helping this person, then that one. But, unknowingly to Yue Xia Lao at the time, his power was weakening as the years passed by. And as his ability to bring people together dwindled, so did the connections of others to their fated persons. 

Humans were desperate. And as a result, many quickly married in hopes that they had chosen their fated one. The chances of that happening, however, were slim to none. Red strings getting crossed caused unhappy marriages, abusive relationships, divorce, cheating, and corruption. 

In a moment of need, Yue Xia Lao exhaled, releasing some of his powers to a child of his family. His descendant. Yue Xia Lao's powers continued through the generations until, finally, the current descendants of his powers, Yang and Ruby, were born.

What one can see, the other cannot. This is both an advantage and disadvantage. The workload of Yue Xia Lao's powers are split, but at the cost of Yang and Ruby's powers being weaker than their predecessors. Neither of the two girls see this as a problem though, as they also have the advantage of each other knowing what the other has gone through. 

Now, the girls attend Beacon Vale University, where they have already helped others find their significant other. But what neither of them would suspect, was that they would find their fated person as well.


	2. Like Ooh-Ahh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep forgetting I posted this on AO3. Sorry. I'll try to be more attentive to this site as I am with fanfic.net.

**I'm waiting for someone who can make me feel**  
**Something like never before**  
**That's who I'm waiting for**  
**I'll wait no matter how long it takes**  
**I just wanna fall in love**

**Don't wanna start with just anybody**  
**I'm not the kind of girl who gives herself away so easily**

* * *

 

Chapter 1: Like Ooh-Ahh

"I love you."

"Not as much as I love you."

"I love you even more than that!"

Ruby groaned as she heard the conversation behind her. She was trying to go to her last class of the day, which would usually be a quiet and peaceful journey, but today proved to be different.

"Hey Rubes, we're gonna split from here if that's okay. Wouldn't want to be late for the last class of the day, right?"

Ruby turned her body, enough so that her sister could hear her properly.

"Yeah, okay. I'll see you later." she said, shifting her eyes to the person next to her sister. "Bye Cinder."

Cinder smiled her mysterious smile at Ruby and responded, "Yeah, see you around."

Something about the older girl bothered Ruby, and it wasn't the fact that she was dating her sister. Maybe it was the way that she seemed to always dangle off of Yang's arm. Or maybe it was the way that her lip curled that left Ruby uncomfortable every time she did so. But the main reason, the most probable one, was because Cinder's red string wasn't connected to Yang's.

Ruby was so concentrated on Yang and Cinder's relationship, she didn't notice she was steps away from running into someone until she heard someone yelling at her.

"Were you even paying attention to where you were going?!"

Ruby snapped out of her out of mind state to see a white haired girl yelling at her from the ground. "Uh...wha?"

The girl only scoffed as she tried to stand back up, "Don't act so dumb! You obviously ran into me! And now my skirt i—!"

The girl's yelling ceased as she slipped on her heel and began to fall again. She closed her eyes and waited for an impact that never came. The girl opened her eyes to find that Ruby had caught her before she had hit the ground. Ruby quickly let the girl go, fearing she'd get yelled at more if she touched her for a second longer.

"I-I'm sorry! I wasn't— And I didn't mean to touch you or anything— it's just that you were falling and I didn't want you to get more mad at me— Agh, that's not what I meant!" Ruby squirmed under the stare of the white haired girl. As if she thought that one more slip up and she was done for.

Before the white haired girl could respond, another figure entered their scuffle. "Weiss, weren't you meeting up with Mom for lunch? You know how she hates to wait."

The girl had wavy black hair that stopped midway on her back. Her eyes were a piercing gold and she sported a bow on her head that matched her hair. Weiss looked at the black haired girl, then checked the time on her wrist watch. Her eyes widened at the time and just before she set to leave, she sent Ruby a scowl.

"This doesn't mean I forgive you." she paused, "But thank you for catching me."

With that, she turned on her heel and left Ruby with the black haired girl. By this time, Ruby had completely forgotten about going to class. She put her hand on her chest and let out a sigh, "I might as well go home."

"Sorry about her. She's not a big fan of people."

Ruby turned toward the black haired girl, surprised. She hadn't really paid attention to her as she was more focused on not getting yelled at anymore. "Ah, no. It was my fault. I wasn't paying attention."

The black haired girl merely flashed smiled at her. "Sure. But I'll tell her to apologize later. If I don't, she'll be too stubborn to do it herself."

 

With that, the black haired girl turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Ruby to herself once more. Ruby pulled her phone from her back pocket and looked at the time. "Agh, I'll just copy off of Penny's notes."

She shoved her phone back into her pocket and started walking to find a place to eat.

* * *

 "And then, Jaune tripped himself when he was trying to get back to his seat!"

The whole table burst into a fit of laughs as Yang finished recalling the events from her last class. Before, Ruby spent a good hour by herself in the cafe everyone was currently in, looking at the people that entered and exited. As soon as she knew that Yang was finished with her final class, the redhead texted her sister, asking to if she wanted to meet up.

And meet up Yang did, as she not only walked through the door with Cinder on her arm, but her friends Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren.

"Hey! I didn't trip myself! There was a marker on the floor and I slipped!"

Yang leaned back into her seat, unimpressed. "If 'a marker' is Jaune for 'your foot,' then yeah, there was totally a marker on the floor."

Ruby snorted as she tried to hold back her laugh. "Jaune look at it this way, at least your presentation was memorable!"

Jaune looked toward Ruby and sneered, "Yeah, well, word has it you tripped the Ice Queen."

Ruby's laughing halted as Jaune reminded her of the incident that occurred earlier that day. She saw the others' eyes widen and quickly look in her direction.

"You made _the_ Weiss Schnee fall?!" Nora exclaimed.

“And somehow lived?" Ren added, sliding to the edge of his chair.

Ruby sunk into her chair, wanting nothing other than to disappear. "How'd you know about it, Jaune?"

"A friend of a friend told me. By the sound of it, if it wasn't for Blake, you would've never heard the end of it." Jaune explained. "Everyone who went to Signal High knows not to mess with Weiss."

"Which is why it's completely understandable why Ruby doesn't know about her reputation." Pyrrha added.

Ruby shook her head, understanding a little more about the white haired girl, and then pegged the question, "So what's her deal? I never met anyone like her back home."

Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren exchanged looks before Ren decided to speak up, "We don't know, actually. We spent four years of high school looking from the outside that we just assumed it was her status that made her act like that."

"The only other person she talks to is her sister, so we haven't had the opportunity to even try and talk to her." Pyrrha said.

"Well, it sounds to me like she only cares about herself." Cinder said, breaking her silence and surprising everyone with her unexpected commentary. Ruby merely stared at the older girl before looking in another direction.

 _And Yang says I’m a killjoy._ Ruby thought. She rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, before speaking up to Cinder. “Well, maybe that’s a little harsh? Pyrrha did say she has a sister. She probably cares about her...you know...at least a little bit.”

“Rubes is right, Babe. Besides, we barely know little miss snow angel. No need for the harsh judgement.” Yang added, stroking the small of her girlfriend’s back.

Cinder responded by turning to Yang and planting a kiss square on the blonde’s lips before sitting back in her seat and going back to being quiet. The rest of the table grew silent, not really knowing what to say given that none of them were close to Cinder besides Yang.

“Anyways,” Pyrrha spoke up, “I think it’s time for Jaune and I to be going now. He has the midterm to study for.” The redhead rose from her chair, with Jaune following suit.

“Yeah, if I don’t pass this one, Professor Oobleck is gonna have my head. Later guys!” The two swiftly left the cafe, and before too long, Nora and Ren were following in their path.

“We have to go now too! Ren’s mom is making xiao long bao for dinner!” Nora said as she hopped right out of her seat.

“Xiao long bao? Sounds like xiao long _wow_ to me!” Yang joked, waving Nora and Ren goodbye, “Be sure to share next time!”

Soon enough, only Ruby, Yang, and Cinder remained. _Oh boy. They’re gonna be all lovey dovey around me again. Ruby sighed as she rested her head in her hand. Whatever. I’ll just ignore them._

Ruby used her time to ignore her sister being gross to instead focus on the customers that came and left the cafe. It were times like this that confused Ruby the most. Everyday it was all she saw; the red strings of couples going every which way. People in relationships, probably thinking that they’ve found the one, when really, their fated someone had walked right on by.

Ruby looked over to check on Yang and Cinder, only to see that the latter was pretty much sitting on the former’s lap. _Like them._ She thought as she stared at Cinder and Yang’s strings as they led out the door and somewhere beyond where Ruby’s eye could see.

The silver-eyed girl felt bad about not telling her sister that her girlfriend was meant for someone else, but she didn’t know how to break it to her. Before Cinder, Yang had never taken any of her relationships seriously. They were just...flings, if anything. Really, before Cinder came along, Yang didn’t even believe that the person she was destined for existed. Ruby didn’t know what compelled Yang to take a chance with Cinder, but whatever it was, she hoped that it never happened again.

“What’s wrong, Ruby? You’ve been spacing out for a while now.” the sound of Yang’s voice was enough to break Ruby’s daze. The girl looked at her sister, and it wasn’t until she did so that she saw that Cinder had already left. “What’s up, kiddo?”

Ruby hesitated, mentally scolding herself for being so readable. Her mind scattered, trying to think of something to tell the older girl. “I just, uh, you know. Relationships are weird and I don’t get them.”

Yang laughed at her younger sister’s answer. “You would say that, wouldn’t you? Don’t worry, baby sis, you’ll know eventually.” Yang made a box with her fingers, much like a director would, toward Ruby, “That string of yours gets brighter and brighter everyday; like it’s dying for you to meet the one you were made for.”

Ruby smiled. _Whew, she believed that._ “Yeah, whatever. I bet I don’t even have a string.” She was met with a flick to the forehead after her response.

“Don't be silly. Of course you do! Would I mention your string for _years_ if you didn't?” Yang said.

“You _would_ , if you could even remember _anything_ for that amount of time.” Ruby said, earning her another flick to the forehead.

“You deserved that. But, anyways, the point is that your string is glowing like fire!” The blonde wiggled her fingers to emphasize her point, “It's just dying to show you the lucky girl!”

Rubbing her forehead until the pain went away, Ruby responded, “How do you know it's a girl?”

Yang couldn't help but laugh. “Psh, have you met yourself? Ruby, the minute you introduce yourself to a guy you might as well be telling him that he’ll never have a chance. That's just the type of person you are!”

If the statement wasn't true, Ruby would have said something snarky in return. But it was. So the poor girl had no choice but to stay quiet. Ruby looked away from her sister, refusing to talk to her despite Yang being right. Instead, Ruby returned to observing the world around her, and the many customers that were in this world.

There weren't many people in the cafe besides her and her sister, a handful at best, and most were waiting in line. Ruby heard the chime of the door ringer in the background but didn't bother to look at who had entered. The next thing Ruby heard was the screech of chair legs against the floor. She felt someone hover over her, and only then did she turn around. She saw Yang had suddenly stood up for some reason, intently looking at whoever had just walked in.

Ruby turned around to see what her sister was looking at. She was met with two sets of heads, one with black hair, the other with white. The white hair caught her attention first, so she moved her eyes slightly down to see the face. _Weiss Schnee. Hopefully she didn't see me._

Though, it would prove to be tough considering her sister just broke the silence in the once quiet cafe and was still standing for some reason. Ruby’s eyes then focused on the black hair. _Jaune said her name was...Blake?_

The red haired girl was about to turn back around to ask her sister what had gotten her so worked up, but then something else caught her eye. A string. A red string. Blake’s red string...that just so happened to lead to Ruby’s table...just barely passing Ruby, as if it led to… Ruby had never snapped her head back so fast. Her eyes darted back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth, as if she wasn't believing what she was seeing. Yet, there it was.

Yang’s string and Blake’s string were one in the same.

“Uh oh.”


	3. Rum Pum Pum Pum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I suck at updating orz I'll try to get better

**Ouch, your head will hurt**  
**You won't be able to sleep**  
**You won't forget me easily**  
**Your true first love that appeared all of a sudden, rum pum pum pum**

 **What to do? You probably expected one who grew up straight  
** **But I'll be crooked and torture you, I'm not easy**

* * *

Chapter 2: Rum Pum Pum Pum

If Yang was honest, she always feared that her sister would live her life without knowing what it was like to be with another person. For her, at least she could say that she knew what it was like, going on flings and being with Cinder and whatnot. Yang understood what it meant to have another person to fall asleep next to, even if it was for a single night. _But Ruby doesn't want that._

And Yang knew it. She had told her sister that her person was out there, and of all the tricks they would play on each other, Yang refused to joke about who her sister was meant to be with. Ruby already thought the idea of being with someone was ridiculous, she didn't need an excuse to further that belief if she thought that Yang was tricking her about her string.

Which is why the other day had come as such a surprise to the blonde.

To think, after all the years of convincing Ruby that her fated person was out there solely based on her sister's string leading off in some convoluted direction, only to have that person attached to said string waltz into the cafe before her very eyes? As if it was nothing? Unbelievable.

And now, it was all Yang could think about.

"What's wrong? You seem distracted." Yang heard. The blonde turned toward the source of the voice to find Cinder sitting beside her. _Oh yeah, we were on a date._  
  
"It's nothing. Just older sister stuff, y'know?" Yang responded.

Immediately and stiffly, Cinder replied, "I can't say I do, considering I'm an only child."

"Oh, right. I forgot." Yang said awkwardly. _What's with her?  
_  
Or maybe it was Yang who seemed out of line from the usual. She was distracted thinking about what had happened just the other day. _And it just so happens that her person is Weiss Schnee. What did Jaune call her? An Ice Queen?_  
  
The nickname sure did seem to fit the girl in the physically sense, given the white hair and all, but that wasn't the issue at hand. With how caring and kiddish Ruby was, the last person one would expect her to end up with was some someone cold. It worried Yang. Frightened her, even. Cinder's voice resonated, which snapped Yang out of her trance once again.

"Well, considering how out of it you've been today, perhaps it's best if I leave you to figure out what's been bothering you so much."

Yang didn't even have time to react before her girlfriend started walking away. "Ack, wait, Cinder!"

All the blonde could muster was an outreach of the hand as she watched Cinder leave her alone on the bench they were sitting on. _Am I really that out of it?_

"I hope I didn't come at a bad time." Yang looked up at the source of the new voice to find Blake. "It seemed like I was about to interrupt something I had no business being in."

The girl came as a surprise for Yang. She didn't seem the type to approach someone she hardly knew for the sake of conversation. Especially so, given that Yang was the sister of the girl that had collided with her own. "Oh! Uh, no. You're fine. Just relationship stuff, y'know?" Yang saw a slight nod of the head from Blake and continued, "So, what's up?"

"I just wanted to make sure everything was okay with your sister." The black haired girl extended her arm out to the part of the bench that Cinder once sat on. "Mind if I take a seat?"

Yang stumbled and quickly scooted a little closer to the arm rest on her side of the bench to make sure Blake had enough room to sit. Blake took the gesture as a silent 'a-okay' for her to properly join the blonde girl, which she did as soon as there was room for her. "I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I'd like to apologize again for Weiss' behavior the other day. She can be a little...abrasive towards others."

* * *

When Weiss Schnee first walked into the cafe, the first thing that Yang noticed was the stark white hair that the heiress was known for. With the shorter girl's physicality as well as the prim and proper vibe that seemed to waft off of her, it was no wonder the rest of Yang's friends assumed her attitude toward her status. Yang was about to let little miss rich be on her way, hoping that she would leave Ruby alone whether she noticed her sister or not. However, just as Yang was about to turn her head back toward Ruby, something had caught her eye.

Yang shot up from her seat, blinking rapidly to make sure her eyes weren't playing a trick on her. _Her string...leads up to our table…_ All Yang could do was stare. She saw the heiress' eyes meet hers and Yang was sure it was because of the screech of her chair's legs across the floor, but she didn't care. She didn't dare take her eyes away from Weiss Schnee, even when she saw the white haired girl's eyebrows furrow. It was only when said heiress started approaching Yang's table that the blonde snapped out of her trance-like state.

"You!" Weiss' eyes were now focused on Ruby, having long forgotten about Yang. "You're the girl that made me fall this morning! If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have needed to change before meeting with my mother!"

Yang took a good look at Ruby, who was practically backed against the window of the cafe thanks to the Weiss' barking. She couldn't put her finger on it, but Yang noticed that her sister seemed distracted for some reason. In any case, Weiss' yelling wasn't doing anything good for either party. "Hey, cool it down, will 'ya? You're making people stare."

Yang watched Weiss scoff before she threw back a remark. "Excuse me? You're one to talk. The way you scratched your chair across the floor was practically barbaric."

 _Well, sorry I didn't know that my sister's fated person was a total bit—_ "Weiss, that's enough." Yang was surprised at the new, unfamiliar voice that she looked up to find the owner. The voice belonged to a girl with black hair, who seemed to have accompanied the Schnee Company heiress the entire time. "Your outbursts only add to the attention you've caused."

The black haired girl switched her attention from Weiss to Yang and Ruby. The sudden turn took Yang by surprise as she was met with a pair of piercing amber eyes. Intimidated wouldn't be the right word to describe the way Yang had felt when the black haired girl looked at her, but nevertheless, an electric shock jolted through Yang's spine as she spoke. "You'll have to excuse her. She tends to take her anger out on other people when stressed." The black haired girl reached out her hand, offering it to Yang. "I'm Blake, her sister."

Yang was nodding before she even completely comprehended what Blake had told her. Snapping out of her dazed state, Yang nodded her head and shook the hand in front of her. "Yeah, no problem. Uh, I'm Yang." she stuttered. _What's wrong with me?_ she thought, wondering why her words hadn't come out as clearly as they usually did. "Her sister." Yang laughed nervously as she followed Blake, pointing to Ruby.

Blake offered a smile before she turned toward her sister again, giving her a stern look. "Now apologize so we can get going."

Weiss looked at Blake in surprise. "But she-" she started, fully prepared to retaliate. Before she could do so, Blake presumably shot another look, one out of Yang and Ruby's view, that made Weiss stop from continuing with her complaint. The white haired girl huffed and crossed her arms as she shifted her focus to Ruby. "I apologize for running into you." she said tensely, gritting through her teeth.

Ruby nodded nervously, feeling like she had no other choice but to accept the apology. Weiss looked at her and huffed again, pouting as she stuck her nose in air and walking away to get in line, presumably to get something to eat. Blake shook her head and sighed, grinning before she focused on Yang and Ruby once more. "Again, I'm really sorry about her. I hope you have a good rest of your day." she said as she turned to join her sister.

* * *

Yang put her hands up, shaking them as well as her head as she recalled what happened the other day. "No, really don't worry about it! Ruby's fine!" she said quickly, oddly nervous.

Blake smiled at her response, casually leaning back on the bench and resting her hands in her lap to get more comfortable. "Whatever you say. I still thought it was worth saying, though. She felt really bad afterward."

Yang supposed it was the face she made after Blake had finished speaking that made the aforementioned black haired girl laugh. " _She_ felt _bad_?" she asked, continuing before her thought process could stop her, "Is that even possible?" As soon as Yang's conscience caught up with her, she covered her mouth with her hand, immediately regretting what she had said.

Blake waved her hand, signaling that there wasn't anything for Yang to worry about. "I know, hard to believe, isn't it?" she chuckled, calming herself before she spoke again, "Weiss is very concerned by how people view her. She gets especially upset when she adds fuel to her own fire, too, so try to believe me when I say that it was her idea to apologize to Ruby."

It was just as Blake said, it was very hard to believe a person who so willingly yelled at her sister in public was the one who thought to apologize to her in the first place. Yang felt her mouth gape, which prompted another laugh from Blake. The black haired girl lifted her hand up just beneath Yang's chin and closed the blonde's mouth. "Don't want to catch flies do you? It's not that hard to believe, is it?" she said lightly, retracting her hand once Yang's mouth was closed.

The blonde snapped out of her moment and felt herself blush slightly, embarrassed at what she had just done. "S-sorry, I didn't mean-" Yang cut herself off as she saw Blake wave her off, signaling that it was no big deal. Yang relaxed a bit more, ignoring why she was so nervous to begin with.

Blake looked toward the blonde again, a certain radiance in her eyes that left the latter speechless for a reason she couldn't explain. The black haired girl opened her mouth again to speak, when an outside voice interrupted her. "Blake." they said, rather coldly.

Both girls turned toward the voice and found a tall, broad man with russet hair. He stood with a swagger that made Yang want to roll her eyes, much in the same way she did whenever Cardin tried to flirt with her. "You weren't at our usual meeting place." the man continued, all focus on the black haired girl. Yang looked over to Blake, worried at how quiet she had gotten, and was surprised to see how tense she was. The blonde opened her mouth to say something, when Blake suddenly stood up, her head kept down and focused on the ground.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to talk to a friend. It won't happen again." she said quickly, as if something would happen if she didn't explain herself immediately. Slowly, Blake lifted her head up to look at the man, who hadn't moved from his spot or changed his expression. "Adam, can we just go?" she whispered softly.

When Blake had stood up, Yang switched her attention to look at the man, named Adam, instead. She got a bad feeling from him, and for obvious reasons too. She didn't know of the status of their relationship, but it didn't take someone with magical fate-seeing powers to tell that something was off.

Adam remained silent, looking at the top of Blake's head as she continued to look at the ground before he turned to look at Yang. It surprised Yang how quickly he moved to look at her, but moments later, she felt her own eyes harden as she challenged his stare. The man clicked his tongue and grabbed Blake's wrist, suddenly dragging her away from the bench. "Whatever." Yang heard him say, as Blake stumbled on her feet, surprised at how sudden he started moving.

"Agh, wait- Adam!" Blake said, looking back at Yang with an apologetic look on her face before turning to Adam and trying to keep up with him. Yang returned Blake's look with worry in her eyes. The blonde reached out her hand and opened her mouth to say something, but no words were said as the two got further away, until finally, they were nowhere to be seen.

Once it was her alone on the bench once again, Yang slouched back into the bench and sighed. Perhaps it made her a terrible person, but some part inside of her really wished she hadn't just seen that. It wasn't because she saw the clearly unhealthy relationship between Blake and that Adam guy and didn't want to help, but because it was Ruby who was better in handling them than she was. In Yang's eyes, she never quite understood why others would deal with a relationship that didn't make them happy. In her experience, if she wasn't satisfied with whatever relationship she was in at the time, then she would leave it, no questions asked.

She was used to seeing bad relationships given her power and all, but the problem was that she couldn't see neither Blake's nor Adam's strings. And sure, she could happily assume that they aren't each other's destined person, but another problem arose from that situation, which was the low possibility that they actually were meant to be together. It didn't happen often, but it wouldn't be surprising if Yang found the latter problem to be true. Whatever the case, Yang felt strangely compelled to help Blake, either with her relationship or getting out of it.

And it would only be in the span of a few months until she finally knew why.


	4. Destiny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuse for not updating, but I'm sorry orz

**You're my destiny**   
**I can't look away**   
**You're all I see**   
**You're my destiny**   
**I can never leave you**   
**You're my Earth**   
**The center of my day**

* * *

 

Chapter 3: Destiny  
"Aw man, Emerald's gonna be so mad at me!" Ruby exclaimed as she quickened her pace, heading away from campus grounds. Timeliness had never been one of her strong suits, and today proved especially of that statement.

The redhead looked at her watch as she changed her stride to where she was practically running, seeing that she had five minutes to get to her destination that took at least double that by car.

"Yang just _had_ to take Cinder for a joy ride! She could have taken Bumblebee, but no, she wanted to be _classier_." The girl huffed frustratedly, knowing in the back of her head that it was her own fault that things turned out the way they did. She sighed, thanking high school track that she could keep her pace up until she got to where she was meeting Emerald, and decided to focus only on her running.

Ruby was so focused, in fact, that she almost didn't notice that she was about to run into someone.

An all too familiar someone.

"Whoa!" Ruby saw Weiss' eyes widen as hers did the same, but luckily, this time the redhead was able to sidestep out of the heiress' path, effectively swerving and preventing the past from repeating itself. Ruby stopped in her tracks and turned to the heiress, quickly bowing her head as she caught her breath.

"Sorry! That was my fault this time. I can make it up to you the next time we bump into each other!" Ruby said quickly before starting her run once again. If she hadn't been so worried about running late, she definitely would have stumbled more on her words. That _was_ Weiss Schnee that she almost ran into...again, but because of her concern for Emerald being mad at her, she couldn't be bothered.

By the time Ruby had finally gotten to her destination, a small coffee shop outside of campus grounds, it was already 20 minutes past the time she had planned with-

"Ruby!" A voice called out as soon as the girl walked into the shop.

Ruby turned her head to meet the eyes of a certain green haired girl, who Ruby found to be more than a little frustrated at her.

"You were suppose to be here 20 minutes ago. What would have happened if Mercury had shown up before you?"

The redhead caught her breath, straightening her posture before answering back to the older girl. "I told him to meet us 30 minutes after we were suppose to. It'll be fine, Emerald. Just relax."

Of course, in her head, Ruby knew that Emerald could do no such thing. She had been working on this case for a while now, and the chance that the green haired girl hadn't been affected by Ruby's powers yet were close to impossible. Love was a powerful force, after all, and Ruby only amplified that force with the presence of her powers. _Like how a lightning rod attracts lightning_ , her dad used to say.

"I _am_ relaxed, but you said that you wouldn't be late today. Glad to see this is a priority for you." Emerald huffed, crossing her arms as her eyebrows furrowed.

Ruby laughed awkwardly, a few broken up 'hehs' escaped her mouth as she scratched the back of her head. Emerald, from her experience, has always been a demanding...friend? Is that what she would call people she's helped? Though, admittedly, Ruby's never kept up her cases after she got them together, but that was besides the point.

"And I'm sorry about that! My sister borrowed my car, so I had to run here and I almost bumped into Weiss Schnee again and-"

"You're rambling."

Ruby pressed her lips together and covered her mouth with her hand as soon as Emerald had pointed out her bad habit, making the older girl roll her eyes.

"If you almost had a run in with Miss Heiress, then I guess I could forgive you, but this is the last time." Emerald said, her warning coming off sternly. "Now let's go over the plan quickly before Mercury gets here."

* * *

 

By now, it was practically routine to Ruby. At first, she was a bit apprehensive to approach her basketball teammate, considering the two were never close to begin with, but after she had seen a certain gray haired boy conveniently show up to one of their games, she couldn't ignore it.

Actually walking up to the older girl proved to be the most difficult part, but Ruby found that asking Emerald to help improve her layups was enough to break the ice. Idle conversation followed, and soon, the two got close enough for Emerald to comfortably admit that she had a crush on someone: a guy in the same Sports Management program as her. His name was Mercury.

It didn't take much after that for Emerald to ask Ruby for her help in getting his attention, though the older girl was quite stubborn about it. Naturally, Ruby accepted the plea for help, as she had done so many times before, and got straight to work.

Surprisingly, she found that the older boy had been easy to contact and approach. For whatever reason or another, Cinder had known who he was and exchanged his contact info with the redhead (probably one of the only times Ruby's said thank you to the girl). Their first encounter was awkward to say the least. Through some exchanges via text, Mercury had gotten the impression that it was, in fact, Ruby that had an interest in him. His reasoning being that he couldn't remember Emerald's face, so she must've been a lure to get him to hang out with the younger girl. The redhead quickly denied this, reminding him of the time he had gotten to a basketball game and sending a picture of the green haired girl. After sorting out his confusion, Ruby asked, with Emerald's permission, if he would think he'd be interested in her teammate.

Obviously, he had agreed. Slowly, Ruby helped put the pieces of their puzzle together, and soon it would be complete.

* * *

 

Which led to today. By now, Ruby was practically nonexistent to the two, both Emerald and Mercury cancelling the redhead out with their sarcastic exchanges with one another. But the younger girl didn't mind. This was the last piece, after all.

"Oh _please_ , I could sweep you away at basketball any day of the week." Mercury said cockily, laughing as he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms.

Ruby looked at him curiously, admittedly tuning out their entire conversation pretty much the entire time that they had been sitting in that coffee shop. Though Ruby was used to being ignored in this phase of her routine, she still couldn't help but feel a little abandoned. She rested her head in her hand as her eyes travelled back and forth, watching the exchange between Emerald and Mercury, wondering what she should make for dinner.

"You know you're talking to BVU's female power forward, right?" Emerald taunted, "It doesn't matter how fast you are if you can't make the shot."

To be honest, Ruby didn't know why Emerald even wanted her to come. _Last security measure, maybe? Or...to make sure I didn't feel left out?_

But whatever the reason, Ruby complied, watching as the two made plans to leave for a game of basketball to see who would win. Mercury and Emerald kept staring at each other as they both slid out of their seats and stood up, the clear competitive spirit running through both of them.

"Let's settle this then." Emerald whispered, hungry for the challenge. Ruby knowing she'd rather die than let Mercury beat her.

Before the two could leave, Ruby cleared her throat, drawing the attention of both. "So, uh, will you guys be okay if I leave? Not that I want to! It's just that I have to make dinner…" she said, her voice trailing at the end.

Mercury smirked at Ruby, while Emerald simply nodded. "Go ahead, Ruby. I honestly thought you had left a while ago actually." she mumbled before turning back to Mercury, "Ready to lose?"

Mercury rolled his eyes. "You wish." he said as he made his way towards the door, with Emerald following after him.

Ruby watched as they left the coffee shop, waving goodbye when she saw Emerald suddenly turn back to silently thank her. She saw the electricity fly between the two. Flames burned across their string, filled with passion and desire. It made Ruby smile. Her work here was done.

Grabbing her bag, Ruby headed out the door to walk to the grocery store to pick up supplies to cook dinner that evening.

* * *

 

Ruby smiled to herself as she slowly walked through the produce aisle, carefully thinking about what she should make herself for dinner. The redhead knew that Yang would be staying over at Cinder's place that night, and even though the thought of it made her cringe, that meant that she could make whatever she wanted and Yang would be none the wiser.

_I could make myself Mom's old cookies and she would never know._

The thought made her giggle out loud, but in the end, she opted not to considering she couldn't afford to gain the extra weight while basketball season was still going on. Instead, she went to get a carton of eggs and some vegetables to make a mean omelet, because according to her 'anytime was breakfast time.'

As Ruby reached to grab the eggs, she couldn't help but notice a white head of hair out of the corner of her eye. She looked over, immediately recognizing Weiss Schnee, looking as though she was really struggling to pick between the organic and nonorganic eggs. Ruby raised an eyebrow, wondering if it was really that big of a deal since, at the end of the day, they were still eggs. She thought about an article that she had overheard Yang and Cinder talking about and wondering if it was really worth bothering the older girl over.

"I heard that there isn't a difference between organic and non." she found herself saying. The redhead's eyes widened a bit as did Weiss' as the heiress turned toward her voice. "I-I mean I heard that companies just stamp the word 'organic' on things so they can charge more so…"

Ruby's eyes focused on the ground, taking a few quick looks at Weiss just to see how to react. She saw the white haired girl's eyebrows furrow and her mouth frown before she looked at the organic eggs once again.

"Is that right…" Ruby heard Weiss say before turning to face her.

Ruby couldn't help but let out a small 'eep' and step back a little. "Sorry! I didn't mean to bother you again it's just that you looked like you really couldn't decide so I just-"

"Oh my goodness, will you please stop rambling? It's disrespectful." Weiss scoffed, interrupting Ruby.

Ruby sealed her mouth shut and waited for the older girl to continue. _Why am I so nervous? I wasn't like this this morning_. But then again, Ruby had been in a rush, leaving no actual time for the heiress to scold her even if she wanted to.

"This morning you said that you'd make something it up to me the next time we bumped into each other. I bet you weren't expecting it to be this soon." Weiss said calmly, "Well, how are you going to make up almost running into me a _second_ time?"

"Oh yeah, I guess I did…um..." Ruby whispered as she rubbed the back of her head, remembering that she only said that because she was running late. It took a solid minute of thinking for Ruby to come up with an idea that would be considered even remotely good. Looking at her basket, she realized it was the only thing that she could offer.

"Have you eaten dinner yet?"

 


End file.
